Tattoo
by kestraTroi7
Summary: In which the 3XK sends a house-warming gift to the detectives at the 12th precinct. I like light-hearted summaries, but I can assure you that the story is anything but. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: In which the 3XK sends a house-warming gift to the detectives at the 12th precinct. (And I use up a lot, if not all, of my creative license)

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or anything associated with it.

**Tattoo**

Everyone in the precinct heard the scream, even though it originated from the far downstairs morgue. It was Lanie's voice.

Castle, who had been preparing a coffee for the still absent Beckett, sprinted to the stairwell, Esposito in front of him, Ryan and Montgomery just behind. Whatever had happened, it sure as hell wasn't any dead body. Lanie was many things, but never squeamish.

Esposito thrust the door open with formidable force, his eyes shifting instantly to Lanie. As far as he could tell, there were no disturbances. There was the body of a woman lying on her table, and Lanie's autopsy tools were spread out beside it. The only thing out of place was the horrified expression fixed on Lanie's face.

Ryan and Montgomery, who had had their guns drawn, lowered them at the apparent absence of danger, and Castle, confused, shot the two of them a questioning look, receiving only shrugs in response.

"Javi…" Lanie muttered, her gaze not on him, as he wrapped his arms around her. Castle was the first to follow her transfixed stare to the body on the slab.

"Beckett!" He yelled, running to the table. "Kate!"

Both Ryan and Montgomery started to the slab instantaneously, and Esposito twisted around in terror, releasing Lanie and looking down in to the face of the woman he had called his boss for the last several years.

Kate Beckett lay there. Unmoving. Pale. Still. Her ashy face was framed by the mass of her mangled hair. The thing that Castle's eyes were immediately drawn to, however, was the pattern on her neck. It was the mark that was left behind by a rope strangling.

3XK. Castle felt his heart skip a beat.

"Beckett!" Castle called again, grabbing the detective's shoulders and shaking her, willing her to wake.

"Check the pulse," Lanie whispered to Esposito, still standing behind Esposito, away from the figure of her best friend. Her girl.

Montgomery heard the muted whisper and extended his fingers to the neck of his finest detective, afraid that he would feel nothing there. Four pairs of eyes were resting upon him, waiting, dreading to hear his response.

He heaved a sigh of relief. "Call an ambulance for her, Ryan," Montgomery called. The weights had lifted off his chest though. Kate was alive, and if she had pulled through this far, she certainly wasn't going to give in now. He heard Ryan pulling out his phone and dialling, relieved, yet nonetheless frantic.

The novelist beside him, however, seemed to require more persuasion. Hell, he wouldn't accept she was all right till she was on her own two feet and slapped him in to believing it herself. Lanie, her eyes filled with tears, met Castle's eyes, and nodded. That look alone was enough to make him feel the fear diminishing inside of him.

As if Beckett had heard the thought and wanted to intensify it, her eyelids began to flicker open. The opposite happened, however, and instead, worry welled up inside of him as he immediately picked up on the fact that her breaths were shallow and her chest was rising and falling unevenly.

"Beckett, just lie still," He told her, trying to keep his voice calming.

Her eyes were glazing over in panic, and she started to move about where she lay. Castle tried to lay a hand on her shoulder to keep her still, but she pushed his hand away, struggling against him. Ryan ran out at Montgomery's urging to wait for the ambulance crew to arrive.

"Shhh, it's okay, Beckett," He tried again to reassure her that she was safe. Suddenly, she seemed to snap out of the trance, her eyes flicking up to meet his.

"Castle?" Her voice was weak between her frantic attempts to gulp air in to her lungs.

"It's okay, Beckett," he repeated to her. Acutely aware of Esposito, Lanie and Montgomery watching in concern, he reached down and touched her hand. She had lowered her gaze then, and was reaching up slowly with her free hand to touch her neck.

Just as her fingers brushed it, she flinched in pain, retracting her fingers. She started to cough loudly, her breaths between the coughs growing more and more desperate. Castle thought he saw a flash of blood in her mouth, but before he could affirm what he saw, the paramedics were bustling in the room.

Swarming over her and hiding her from his view, they affixed a mask over her face, slowing her breathing to a more natural rate. As they pulled her near-limp body on to a stretcher, Castle could only watch on in terror, flanked by Ryan, Esposito, Montgomery and Lanie. He wanted more than anything to follow the team of blue shirted people in to the ambulance to which they were taking her, but he didn't think she would have wanted it, however close they had become over the years.

"What's that?" Ryan asked, after almost a minute of them staring in to the hallway after their friend. He was pointing at a small square of paper. Lanie, the closest to it, bent down and pulled it off the floor, unfolding it.

She seemed to stifle a sob, before falling against Esposito again, who held her close while he read what was written on the paper. "Son of a bitch," the Hispanic detective muttered under his breath, handing the message to Montgomery.

Castle craned his neck to catch what was written on the paper:

_Brunettes aren't usually my type. For her, though, I might make an exception._

**A/N: If you want to see this continue, please review. If there isn't any response, I'll not be writing another chapter.**

**And the title? An explanation will be offered later.**

**Oh, and if any of you have read my other story, Spider, you might be wondering why I'm always harming Beckett. I've been thinking about it myself, and I haven't the slightest idea… she's actually my favourite character. You might also be wondering why the hell I have time to write a whole chapter of another story and not update the other one… The only answer I really have for that is that there doesn't really seem to be anyone, except for one very kind reviewer, who gave me any indication of what they thought on the last chapter I wrote, so I'm not really in the mind-frame to write more on that right now.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you okay?" Rick said, his voice low and concerned as he spoke to the woman sitting up in the white hospital bed. Her face still had an unhealthy pallor and she seemed to take a while too long to process simple information or questions directed at her. All in all, she was unfocused and disoriented but alive.

"Getting there," Beckett murmured. "How long before I'm cleared to go?"

She had directed the second question to Montgomery, who was quick to respond; "The doctors say that they'd like to keep you here overnight just to be sure. Some of the drugs in your system can have some unpredictable side-effects, but you should be released tomorrow."

"'Kay. Thank you, sir," Beckett nodded to her superior, who echoed the motion.

"I've got to be going, Beckett. Feel better," Montgomery said in parting as he opened the door and let himself leave the small room the many of them were crowded in.

Barely a second after Montgomery had left the room, Beckett let her head fall back in to the pillow. It was obvious to Ryan, Esposito, Lanie and Castle that she could hardly sit straight and was doing it for the sake of her pride in front of her Captain. Thankfully he had understood the need.

Castle, who had learnt well the virtue of patience in the three hours in which he had waited to be let in to the room (as well as the uselessness of pacing, throwing things and yelling expletives), simply sat in the chair closest to her side, taking in her beautiful silken hair, her smile, her _life._

On Beckett's other side was Lanie, who was whispering things to herself about needing to take better care of 'her girl'. Ryan sat next to her, shuffling some papers, telling Beckett about the statement she'd have to make the next day. In her current state she wasn't conscious enough of her surroundings to make a reliable comment.

Esposito alone stood aside from the group, he and Beckett went back almost as far as she went back with Montgomery. They had developed a stronger mutual bond than family in those many years of continued reliance and trust. Both had spent many an hour in the waiting rooms waiting for the other to be released. Without conscious thought, Esposito felt himself pulled in to the past, remembering the time she had been shot in the shoulder over six years ago now. In those few moments when he had caught her eye tonight he knew she was thinking of it as well.

"You really scared me, you know…" Castle started to say. Beckett turned her head to face him, blankly, before she looked in to a direction where she wasn't facing on of her friends, letting tears brim in her eyes.

"All of us," Lanie added, getting up and wrapping an arm around her dearest friend.

Beckett started to cough again, thankfully at a lesser intensity as when she had woken briefly in the morgue, but she still seemed to be in some pain.

"Should I call someone? A doctor?" Ryan asked quickly, looking over at Esposito, who saw Beckett shaking her head. He knew her well. Best to let her get through this one herself.

"Who else you gonna call, bro? An author?" Esposito replied, sneaking a glance at Castle, who hadn't noticed the exchange between the two boys. Beckett's coughing fit seemed to be subsiding. This time there wasn't any hint of blood.

"Castle?"

"Yes," he replied, deadly serious.

Beckett extended her slender fingers to her chin, barely brushing it with the tips of her fingers and lowering it to her neck, where there was still a visible marking of a rope burn etched on her skin, she seemed to change her mind, confusion spreading through her eyes as she quickly lowered her fingers. Castle shuddered at the sight. What was he going to tell her?

"Is there a mirror here?"

At this point all conversation had halted and the sole focus of the room was on the exchange between Castle and Beckett. Castle started to rummage about the back of the room, but Lanie placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

Pulling a cosmetics case from her bag she took the affixed mirror and handed it to her friend, who took it eagerly, snapping it open and holding it up so that she had a clear view of her neck.

"Did he… Castle… What is this?" Beckett's fingers were shaking, and her view was being distorted by the blurring of moisture in her eyes. All four others in the room instantly picked up on her recognising of the pattern.

"Does it hurt?"

"What is it?" Beckett asked again, her voice firmer, but quivering.

Castle looked at Lanie helplessly, before flitting his eyes back to Beckett. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it again. This he could not tell her. Not taking his eyes off her, he tilted his head to Lanie, motioning that she answer the question. The M.E. took a breath, trying to draw strength from the pained but determined looks of Esposito and Ryan.

"It's a tattoo of the 3XK's rope strangulation pattern."

The only sound in the room was that of the shattering of a mirror against the floor.

**A/N: Do you like the tattoo thing? Does it make sense?**

**I was pleasantly surprised by the response that the first chapter received, to be honest. I'm hoping that this chapter is a good continuation of where I left off last time, even though it's quite short.**

**I hope you liked the character interaction. I'm trying to keep Caskett at the forefront, but I'm trying to include some nice Ryan/Esposito moments as well as interactions between all the precinct characters. Lack of Jim Beckett is due to the fact I don't want this story to turn in to a clone of the other one with the hospital scene and all.**

**I want to thank you for your reviews. I recall some good points about the more unrealistic aspects of my story being made, and I fully acknowledge the unlikeliness of any such occurrences ever taking place…**

**Oh, and if you are a follower of _Spider, _you'll know that I'm a weekly updater. However, because this story seems to be getting a better response, and the fact that these chapters are considerably shorter than _Spider _chapters, I'll see if I can update twice a week. Probably not, but we'll see.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Girl, are you telling me that he was there in the hospital watching you sleep and neither of you said a word? Not a word?" Lanie shook her head in frustration. "I'm gonna smack the both of you!"

The M.E. had insisted upon accompanying Beckett to her apartment and staying with her for the day. Unfortunately this had resulted in her unbroken monologue about how there were supposedly unresolved feelings between her and Castle. Beckett, however, had heard little of it, as she sat still on her sofa, trying to remember.

"_Do you remember anything at all about what happened before you woke up?"_

Damn! She was supposed to have a decent answer. Something small, but pertinent, that would alert the detectives to a crucial detail that would lead them to identifying their key suspects. This case was all wrong though. They knew who their perpetrator was, only they couldn't find him. Not to mention that he had targeted her, effectively removing her from the investigation for as long as until she had her psych evaluation. And passed.

Without realising it, her hand had drifted up to her neckline, fingers brushing against the fine markings on her neck. As physically painful as they were, she found herself far more frightened about the symbolism of it. He had literally branded her one of his victims, but a victim he had allowed to live. _Why?_

"Beckett, are you listening to me?" Lanie clicked her fingers loudly in front of Kate's face.

"Huh?"

"Come on girl, get some rest. I can stay here tonight." The hesitation was etched all over Beckett's face, and Lanie closed her eyes and looked out towards the window. "I was so scared when I saw you on my slab yesterday, Kate. So damned scared."

Beckett could see the tears threatening to fall down her best friend's cheeks. Reaching forwards to place her unhealthily white fingers over Lanie's fidgety browned ones.

"I've never had a case that was personal. Not ever. When I walked in to the morgue today though, I thought you were _dead_."

Lanie was sobbing now. Kate kept her face free of expression, reaching forward to envelop Lanie in a hug; the only traces of emotion a deep, personal sorrow in her eyes that an unfamiliar observer would be unable to detect. She wished she could express her pain the way Lanie could. Just cry, letting it bleed her dry of feeling. The only problem with that was that however therapeutic it might feel while the tears were escaping her, it wouldn't help in the slightest. She had tried it far too many a time all those years ago in those days, weeks, months, years following the death that had shaped the rest of her life.

Pulling her arms off her friend, she started to speak, "It was like that for me as well, you know. I felt weak and sick. I thought I was going to die. I remember wishing that I hadn't missed my dad's call this morning cause he would never forgive himself if we both died. Especially after all that we went through after – "

It was Lanie's turn to shush her friend gently this time. One of Beckett's greatest strengths as a cop was her ability to analyse situations, to predict what would happen next, and quickly be able to focus on the most pertinent facts. It was also, however, one of her greatest weaknesses, as she tended to use this skill to overanalyse her social situations, and come up with scenarios that were usually, frighteningly, true.

"You know, Lanie, I can call a cab for you. You should be getting home." Kate said quietly.

"Unless you've got someone else on speed-dial that'll be here to look after you tonight I'm staying here." Came the stubborn reply from the M.E.

Beckett shot her a significant look.

"Oh." Lanie said, her voice turning from concerned to strangely exhilarated. "Tell me what you and writer-boy get up to tomorrow, girl."

Rolling her eyes, Kate silently thanked God for the fact that Lanie never changed. She was always one for gossip, even if it was a result of a situation that chilled all of them to the bone.

"We're not going to get up to anything, Lanie. There's not going to be anything to tell."

The smirk that flickered across Lanie's face then was priceless. "That's what they all say, honey. Just you wait till tomorrow."

-CASTLE-

Laughing with him was so easy. He made it effortless for her. Telling her tale after tale about Alexis and Martha's mishaps around the house. He became particularly passionate when he started telling her about the Science projects he used to help Alexis with. There was always an underlying seriousness in what he said though. Always a tone of sentimentality that told her that underneath all the joking and fun, he loved his daughter.

That adoration made him so much more… appealing? Was that the word she was after? How did she describe that rush she got from being in his presence? He made her feel wholesome and alive. He made her forget about all that hell associated with murder cases and made her job that much more manageable. That much more 'fun' as she had told him the year before… He didn't know how true those words had been. She started to smile to herself, but it ended up looking like a wince.

"Are you okay? Does that," he indicated to the band around her neck with a tilt of his neck, "hurt?"

"No. It's fine." Kate whispered, moving closer to Castle while on the sofa they were sharing.

"You sure? I'm not just talking about whether it's hurts physically. It was a pretty awful thing for him to do. He made you one of his victims."

Beckett whimpered softly, barely loud enough for Castle to hear. It wasn't even a whimper. More like a sigh of frustration, hate and helplessness all infused.

"Yeah. The doctor says that I practically can't move quickly for the rest of the week, which basically means I can't do my job."

Castle watched her beside him, struggling to collect herself. He hesitated, before reaching out to touch her shoulder and stroke her arm gently, soothingly. As a father, he knew how to be comforting, and yet not condescending. The warmth that seeped through her being was one that she welcomed gratefully.

Leaning towards him, she allowed him to brush her hair with his fingers. _Oh, hell, _she thought, before moving along the couch ever so slightly and leaning in to his chest. He shivered momentarily as if in surprise, but seemed to accept her position.

Truth was, it was too reminiscent of their time in the freezer.

"So, what are you going to be working on for the next week? Montgomery's not going to let you work this case with the 3XK."

Beckett bundled her fingers in to fists. "I suppose. I don't know. I mean, he had to let me know what's going on in some capacity, but – "

Their conversation suddenly broke off as they heard the sound of an engine roaring just outside and the sound of a car door slamming. Beckett lifted her head and shakily sat up straight. Shaking their heads at their foolishness, they continued, it had to be someone in another one of the apartments. They lapsed in to a comfortable silence, that neither one of them broke for almost a minute.

"What were you saying?" Castle asked, letting her lean against his chest again.

Just then, the sound of a key turning in the lock became apparent. Instantly, Beckett was on her feet, paling suddenly at her quick movement, she reached in to her nearby drawer for a gun, seeming to fumble with it before dropping it, and following the movement herself, collapsing to the floor.

Castle caught her as she fell, reaching for the gun at the same time, turning to face the door, the unconscious detective held protectively in his arms, gun raised in front of him facing the door.

The door twisted open to reveal a tall, dark figure holding a bouquet of flowers in his right hand.

Josh.

**A/N: Hmm…Next chapter might be a bit awkward to write about, esp. the beginning. I don't think that was what Lanie had in mind when picturing what Castle and Beckett would get up to. Wasn't what I had in mind either, I suppose. Please don't hate me. Hate Josh. Don't hate me for using him. He will be disposed of. Hopefully soon.**

**Thank you for all the reviews. It is really kind of you and I'm sure that readers hear this everywhere, but it really does motivate us to write.**

**Thank you for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

"Who the hell are… Kate?" Josh rushed forwards, dropping the flowers. He recoiled at the gun pointed in his direction, but as Castle lowered the weapon, venom in his eyes, he immediately ran to her side.

Josh, the perfect gentleman. It was hardly a wonder that Kate was so in love with him. He had it all; looks, chivalrous mannerisms, even through his work as a cardiac surgeon he was saving lives. And what did he, Rick Castle, have? Money? Several ex-wives and a trail of on-and-off lovers…and he considered why she didn't want him?

"Kate?" He lifted her from the writer's arms and carried her slowly to the sofa. Castle didn't resist his taking her – Josh was a doctor. However much he might personally detest Josh, Beckett would be in medically better hands with him. Halfway there, she stirred, eyes flickering open.

Josh put his finger to her lips, and whispered something to her about 'keeping her strength'. How little he knew about her! Beckett had enough strength in her to power a small nation.

Her eyes were puzzled and searching until she laid eyes on Castle. Quickly, so as to avoid suspicion, she averted her eyes to her window. It was dark outside.

Castle retreated backwards, picking up Beckett's gun and placing it in the drawer from which she had pulled it from just as Josh knelt down beside Beckett. "What's going on here? Are you okay, Kate?"

Beckett nodded her head, pulling herself in to a sitting position. Castle could tell that she was making a conscious effort not to display any signs of weakness. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"Kate… you were unconscious! What the hell happened?"

Kate shook her head. "Something at work… there was a tough case," she murmured.

Castle could hardly believe his ears. Why the hell wasn't she telling Josh about the 3XK and the tattoo he had left branded on her neck? As he looked now though, he could see that she was covering the mark with her shirt collar, leaning backwards slightly so he couldn't see it. "Tell him, Beckett. It was awful back there."

"Castle, I –"

She was cut off, however, by Josh. "I think you should go, Castle." Josh's tone was shallow, and the way he said the writer's name was an exact copy of the way Beckett had said it.

"Josh?" Beckett almost stood up, before seeming to discard the idea. "No, Castle, you can stay."

You won. Castle shot a look at Josh, who looked away an expression plastered to his face that the writer within Castle was itching to label as 'smug'.

"I've really got to be going. Alexis is expecting me. Goodnight, Beckett." He pulled to door firmly shut behind him.

His senses felt dulled as he let himself step back down to his car. It was over. Josh had come back. It didn't matter how or why anymore. He was back now, and like she had said, Josh being around made her so sure that they 'had a chance'. If that was what she wanted, then who was he, Rick Castle, to take it away from her? What did he have to offer but himself?

-CASTLE-

"Why are you back already?" She didn't mean to say the words, but they came out of her. It was the first question she had wanted to ask, but with Castle there, it would have implied certain things… things that had no basis in fact, and yet were so undeniably true.

"I wanted to surprise you. I got back early and I thought that maybe you'd be glad to see me. Evidently, you already had company for the evening."

Maybe it was just how tired she was, but his words were incredibly infuriating. "It wasn't what it looked like."

Josh sighed. He got up, picked up the flowers which he had dropped earlier that evening and put them on her table. "Tell me what it was, then."

"Like I said before, we had a tough case and I was a little shaken up. Castle came over because he wanted to make sure I was okay. That's all."

Narrowing his eyes, Josh sat down beside her. "The way he looks at you… I don't understand why you don't pick up on it. He has feelings for you, Kate."

"Don't be ridiculous. If he – "

"You're the one that's being ridiculous, Kate. You spend almost every working day with this man, at least triple the time that I see you in a week with him, and that's supposed to be okay with me?"

Kate actually stood up that time, striding purposefully to the flowers. She picked them up and opened the door, dropping them just outside. The red petals fell over the floor as if in mourning. "Get out, Josh." Her voice was low and weary.

Josh got up and walked slowly to the door. Through her eyes it seemed like the moment was almost passing in slow motion. He got to the door, but seemed to become startled for a second.

It took her less than a moment to realise he was staring straight at her neckline. Before she could stop him, his fingers were there, gingerly, as all medical practitioners would be trained to touch, but nonetheless devoid of feeling. When Castle touched her, there was a sense of mutual trust or at the very least some, however fleeting it was, spark between them.

Josh fumbled with her collar momentarily before retracting her fingers at her apparent flinch. He frowned, but turned away. "It's too much for me to have to share a girl," was all Beckett heard as he strode down across her hallway, the second man to leave her tonight.

Josh Davidson saw the lights of the man – Castle's – car in the distance and lowered his head in surrender. You won.

-CASTLE-

It was 11:30pm when he heard the knocking at his door. It had been almost three hours since he had left Beckett's place, leaving her within the caring gaze of her Doctor Motorcycle Boy.

That being what it was, he got a great surprise when he saw that the person who had knocked upon his door was Kate Beckett. It wasn't her like he'd seen her before though. Her eyes were red and swollen, and her breath smelled faintly of alcohol.

"Beckett… You shouldn't be out here so late. Where's Josh?"

She rolled her eyes disdainfully. "Gone. Can I come in?"

As she entered his room, he became more aware of the strong cent of the alcohol. His mind immediately was thrust back to the time when she mentioned her father had become an alcoholic. She despised people who drank. "Have you been drinking?"

She let out an uncharacteristically high giggle, falling against him. He guided her gently to his couch. "What's it matter, Rick?" Her saying his name would normally make his heart skip a beat, except he realised that she was likely so intoxicated so as to not know what she was saying.

She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

"Dammit, Kate. I thought our first real kiss would be born from passion, not out of some rebounding need for love after leaving your boyfriend."

"Same thing," she murmured. Didn't he wish it could be? When she attempted to lean in to his chest, he slid out from underneath her and lifted her body off the couch. Her resistance was pitiful. As was her body mass.

He felt her go lax in his arms around halfway up the stairs, and he set her down on his large double bed. Although there were still dark marks around her eyes and the more recent signs of alcohol consumption and crying, it was still the most badly he had wanted to crawl in to bed with a woman in his life.

Walking back to close the door, he noticed something on the ground. It was a red rose petal.

**A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry. I know I said weekly and I won't make up any excuses. From now on, I won't make any promises. I'll try for weekly, but don't kill me if I don't.**

**About the content, I realise that it's kind of drifting off from the tattoo idea, but it'll get back there. Another thing – I want to try and keep this story short. Two, maximum three more chapters with an open-ended ending. I'm hoping that's okay with you.**

**Review? Please. Thank you for reading regardless.**


	5. Chapter 5

When she woke up, it was with a pounding headache that had little intention of subsiding. Trying to remember where she was, she forced herself in to a sitting position, groaning as nausea wracked her body. _Where was she?  
_To her left was a bookshelf; top row filled with Richard Castle books, next few rows with bestsellers by the likes of Cannell and Connolly. A fragment of what she assumed was memory came back to her.

_"Beckett… You shouldn't be out here so late. Where's Josh?"_

_She rolled her eyes disdainfully. "Gone. Can I come in?"_

_"Have you been drinking?"_

_She let out an uncharacteristically high giggle, falling against him. He guided her gently to his couch. "What's it matter, Rick?" Her saying his name would normally make his heart skip a beat, except this time she was so intoxicated so as to not know what she was saying._

It was vague in her mind, but she could recall him carrying her to his bed and at various times in the night hearing whispers beside her bed. Martha and Castle, they sounded like. What had they been saying, though? It bothered her a lot that they could have been talking about her while she had been sleeping. She was a cop, this wasn't meant to happen to her.

The door swinging open brought her thoughts to a standstill. Martha had entered the room. And it was just Martha, with a subdued, but kind expression, dressed in plain clothing, not Martha the actress who lit up buildings with her exuberance and melodrama. It might have been some sort of illusion, but Kate could swear that the moment Martha entered the room, she felt better – it was easier to breathe and think and just be herself as she should be.

"Kate, dear, you're awake. Would you like anything?"

"That's okay, Martha. I'm so sorry to have intruded yesterday, I wasn't thinking straight," she paused, looking at the older woman, who regarded her half-sympathetically, half-expectantly. "I'd better go. Castle was probably shocked when I turned up last night."

"Nonsense. I'm sure my son was just delighted," Kate raised her eyebrows slightly and Martha rolled her eyes in response. "Oh, you know what I mean. Now come on kiddo, he was just making breakfast."

Despite the protest she tried to put up, Martha marched her downstairs to the kitchen counter where, sure enough, Castle stood, sifting through the pantry. Whipping around as he heard her, he brandished a container of Nutella.

"A guilty pleasure," he whispered, leaning in towards her as he said this. "How are you, Beckett? You were pretty…"

"Wasted?" Kate offered. There was a bitterness in her tone that rarely found it's way in to her speech. Somehow, he was certain that this exactly reflected how she had felt about her father's alcoholism. "It's okay. You can say it."

Castle seemed to be engrossed in twisting the lid off the hazelnut spread. Almost as an offhand remark, he added, "How's the neck?"

Unconsciously, her fingers traced the pattern. "Better." There were still moments of sharp pain as she ran her nails along the fine markings, but it was nothing compared to the day when she'd first woken up.

"That's good." He hesitated for a moment and then pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Close your eyes."

"What?"

Martha chose that moment to re-enter the conversation. "Just do it, Kate," the actress winked. "It'll be faster if you do it now."

Sighing theatrically, Beckett obliged him, shutting her eyes tightly. There were a few clinks of what sounded like cutlery against the table before she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Open now."

The sight that greeted her eyes was a huge golden pancake, with a swirl of golden syrup poured over it, and over that was smeared a huge smiley face in Nutella spread.

Mouth agape, she turned to Castle, who merely winked. "I called up Montgomery and he agreed to give you an extra hour this morning considering all that's happened."

She wasn't wearing heels and Castle was more than half a head taller than her. Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed him lightly on the cheek; making both their faces flush scarlet.

"It certainly took you two long enough." Martha muttered to herself, as she made her way quietly from the kitchen, leaving her son with the one woman that she was sure could bring him happiness.

-CASTLE-

"You've got a body, people." Montgomery interrupted the steady taps of pens on paper as he handed an address to Beckett and then, strangely, asked Ryan and Esposito for a word.

Beckett leaned against her desk while waiting, and Castle stood there beside the murder board. Noticing her tight, drawn face he perched on the desk next to her nudging her with his shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yeah, it's just the excitement of another crime scene to visit. I don't understand how you can be happy to go to them."

"Maybe it's not the crime scene, Kate," He whispered, his face close to hers. So close that if she leaned forwards a bit they would be touching. "Maybe it's getting to see a particularly brilliant detective at work."

The easy smile that spread across her face was priceless to him. "I'm sure Esposito will be glad to hear that."

"That he will."

The boys chose that moment to exit Montgomery's office. All the good humour from their faces from their gentle teasing of Castle and Beckett getting off the elevator together an hour late had dissipated. Their faces were deadly serious as they lingered for a second too long on Beckett's neck, the tattoo on which she had concealed with her high-collared blue shirt.

Castle could guess what it meant. And Beckett… well, she wasn't a detective for nothing. She noted the looks and reached the same conclusion within a matter of seconds.

"3XK?" She asked, unsuccessful in trying to conceal the waver in her voice.

Esposito gave a slight nod. "Lanie got an ID on the victim from the person who found her. Rochelle Taylor, 24, apparently with shimmering waist-length blond hair."

"We can take point on this one if you want, Beckett."

She nodded her appreciation and Castle gave the two men a look to get them to move away from him and Beckett.

She looked lost and her eyes were full of something that wasn't quite fear, but rather dread. He enveloped her in his embrace, pulling her against his warmer, larger body.

"Since your lucid now…" Castle brought his lips down to meet hers. They seemed to fit perfectly together, as if it'd been planned for centuries already that they would require it in their genetic coding to have lips that meshed together so comfortably.

When they pulled apart, Castle put his arms around her again, letting her fall against him and prepare herself mentally for the strenuous case that this was sure to be.

From his office, Montgomery saw the kiss, and it was all he could do not to break in to applause. He was the Captain though…

Behind the two, he could see another two, one of which looked considerable unhappy. Ryan handed Esposito several notes of cash as the latter smiled with glee, before the grin disappeared, replaced with a grim determination to find the truth, both for their current victim and for Beckett.

The 3XK had returned.

**A/N: Yeah. The beginning was silly and pointless, but it was fun to write and hopefully fun to read. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**There'll be a final part at the latest next week, probably an epilogue.**

**I can guarantee that reviews will make it come faster since now I'm in my school holidays and have little or no excuse for procrastination besides an ugly collection of homework and the delightful tale Lord of the Flies to be completed and read respectively. But never mind that…**


	6. Chapter 6

**Epilogue**

Kate sat at the table with Martha, Alexis and Rick as they ate breakfast, looking directly ahead but not seeing. By this stage, it was an unsaid fact that she had informally moved in to their place. They were talking to each other – and probably her – but she had trouble hearing what they said. Fear and anticipation kept assaulting her in equal dosages.

Distracting herself, she tried to follow the conversation. Martha was talking.

"It hurts like hell, kiddo, getting it removed. Ugh, the laser… You know, I was 23 and I was having what I _thought_ was the most marvellous relationship with a young man called James. We had convinced each other to go and get our names tattooed on to each of our – "

Castle spat out his coffee. "_Waaay_ too much information, mother."

Alexis shrugged. "Ashley and I gave each other a locket with a message to read when each of us turns eighteen last week. Isn't it just a different way of proving our love for each another?"

Kate felt bile rising in her throat. _Love?_

"I thought that was our thing," Castle complained, indignant. "We've done that since you were eight every year."

Alexis opened her mouth to reply when Kate stood up. "I'm just gonna go up and… get ready." Making her way to the staircase, she ascended to the upper level blocking more and more of the world out as she walked.

_…just a different way of proving our love for each other…_

Reaching the bathroom, she fell heavily against the sink, looking in to the mirror. Stripping off the loose-fitting blue top she had donned while sleeping, she stared at her reflection, a tall, lean brunette clothed in a black bra and leggings. Reaching out with a shaking hand, she touched the reflection of the tattoo on her neck half-expecting the reflection to flinch in pain.

_…just a different way of proving our love for each other…_

Tearless sobs started to wrack her body. The tears had bled from her body for the past few nights, as she lay against the warm body for another that she truly cared about for the first time.

From behind her now, she felt those same warm arms bringing her comfort, pulling the hair from her eyes and grabbing the discarded shirt from the floor and placing it instead beside the sink.

Spinning her around carefully, he made her face him. "Tell me what's wrong, Kate?"

Burying her face in his chest, she let him stroke her back. Pulling away, she turned to look at herself again, cataloguing every vivid imperfection, skimming over the little she was satisfied with.

"I…" She tried to say, before touching her neck and pushing against the skin hard, wincing as the pain washed over her, stabbing in to her. Breathless, she pushed harder, trying to see how much she could bear.

Castle pulled her hand away quickly. "Kate…" He started to say, unsure. Her red-rimmed eyes stared back at him through the mirror. Fumbling with what to say, he decided upon the absolute truth. "You're so beautiful, Kate." Feeling her struggling arm within his hand, he kissed her hair, taking in its delicate fragrance. "Look at yourself. You're perfect."

He ran a hand through her hair, then gently, so gently, down her face, caressing her neck, down her arms, down to her hands, which he enveloped in his own.

She fell against him a second time, and this time; the tears came, soaking through his shirt. There he held her for almost ten minutes while she tried to regain control over her wild emotions.

When he felt the tears stop and she leaned against him, still, he carefully twisted his arm free from hers and grabbed her shirt, pulling it over her head.

"Come on, let's get you dressed. We've got just under an hour."

-CASTLE-

"Just take a deep breath, Kate," Monique told her, as her patient lay flat on her back on the table. "Think of something else, something relaxing."

Doing as she was told, her surroundings became hazy and started to blur together before turning in to an impenetrable black.

-CASTLE-

_Just lie still, honey. Okay? Just lie there as my needle threads through your skin. Maybe you'll enjoy it. It's a pity your hair isn't lighter – we could've had the best of fun together. No use screaming, it won't help with the pain. Oh, and be sure to tell your friend, Rick, that this is his fault. He could have prevented all this had he been –_

Her eyes flew open and she jolted upright till she was sitting. An indistinct image of a dark-skinned woman lowered her back down. As the image cleared, she realised it was Monique – Dr Monique Woods. She'd been the one performing the procedure.

Beside her, Rick stood with gloved hands, giving Kate an awkward smile. For what felt like the hundredth time, she lifted her hand to her neck. It was wrapped in a bandage.

"We just need to keep it wrapped up for a while. Come back in two weeks and we can see about taking them off."

"Thank you, Dr Woods." Kate replied softly.

"You might feel light-headed for a while from the general anaesthetic, but it shouldn't get too bad. If it does, try to get some rest. I've just got to get a form for you to fill out before I can let you go. Try to stay lying down till I get back." With that, the doctor turned on her heel and exited the room.

"Is it gone, Rick?" She whispered, hardly daring to believe it. Receiving a nod in reply, her lips spread in to a smile. Grabbing on to his jacket, she pulled herself in to seating position despite his protests.

"He's still out there, though." She murmured, the fear in her eyes so immediate that he put an arm around her shoulders to comfort her. "We couldn't get him. Not for Rochelle or Chloe or Elise or any of his other victims. He's just going to keep coming back and doing this." She pointed to her neck.

"I won't let him do that. I got your back, Kate." Rick pulled his face closer to hers, so close in fact, that they were almost kissing. Almost.

"Yeah?" She asked him, closing the distance between them.

Breaking the contact between them for a split second, Rick nodded. "Always."

**A/N: So that's it. This is my first completed story! I think the 3XK is an interesting villain, as he is to my knowledge, the only killer they didn't catch in the episodes (apart from Joanna Beckett's murderer), so I'm considering writing a sequel story to tie in with the next episode in which the 3XK shows up (in Season 4, I think), but that's while away yet.**

**Finally, I know more people have followed this story than have reviewed, but I'm still starting out with this, and I'd really appreciate a final review (even an anonymous one) on your overall opinion of the story. Thanks.**


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